The daily menu is split into four categories: bites, small, large and sweet. I opted for duck heart, liver, mushroom, onion and mustard seed from the ‘bite’ section followed by asparagus, duck yolk, goats curd, rye, seeds, celery and cider from the ‘small’ section then onto smoked beef, cauliflower, kohlrabi, mushroom, ramson, radish and ramp from the ‘large’ options and then finally sea buckthorn, carrot, crowdie, buttermilk, biscuit and seeds from the ‘sweet’ options. My dining companion went from celeriac, crab, pear, crème fraiche, brioche and horseradish followed by the same asparagus dish and then onto the turbot, smoked mussels, fennel, wild leek, potato, dill and celery and finally the honey, bee pollen, gooseberry, almond, milk and barley (phew!).
The bites arrived and looked amazing. The duck heart had a stick through it. I did wonder whether this might put people off but then realised that if you were ordering a duck heart, you probably weren’t all that squeamish. To be honest, I could have eaten several bowls of this quite easily. The celeriac, on the other side of the table, seemed to be served on a rather large plate, as is often the trend.
Both of us had opted for the asparagus for the next course. We certainly weren’t disappointed. This dish was full of freshness. The egg added a creaminess that brought the dish alive. The greens on the plate had a vivid colour, showing off the benefit of locally resourced food and nurtured by an attentive chef. The curd worked well and the seeds brought a nice texture to balance out the creamy, smooth elements.
Onto the ‘large’ course. Both the dishes were of a decent size. The smoking of the beef wasn’t overkill but added dimension to the beef in a subtle way. Again, the texture and range of flavour was pretty spectacular and I had been introduced to some varieties of vegetable I wasn’t familiar with but will look for in the future. The turbot looked delicate on the plate.. Again, my friend enjoyed every morsel on the plate and ooh-ed and aah-ed over the flavours.
Finally, the sweets. These were just phenomenal. My sea buckthorn dish, whilst it had its sour notes, was full of different textures and flavours. Each mouthful brought a new surprise or flavour combination. I couldn’t find a fault with any component. On the other side of the table, a delighted squeak went out when she discovered the cake bits were warm. She also enthused over the honeycomb, which she said was an excellent example and was well made.
I don’t think I can ever convey in a review just how good the food was in this restaurant. The flavours the kitchen manage to get out of this food is astounding. The service matched it in every single way. Sadly this place isn’t cheap, so we cannot make a trip to it once a week. I will be coming back again as soon as I can.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes